NO DECISION HAS been made by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as to whether any gardaí will face a criminal prosecution in relation to the fatal shooting of George Nkencho at his home in west Dublin three years ago, an inquest has heard.
A brief sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court today was informed by an official from the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission that a decision on the case was still awaited from the DPP.
Mr Nkencho (27) suffered fatal gunshot wounds during an incident involving members of the Garda Armed Support Unit outside his family home at Manorfields Drive, Clonee, Co Dublin on December 30, 2020.
The fatal shooting occurred after a stand-off developed between the deceased who was armed with a kitchen knife and gardaí shortly after Mr Nkencho had been involved in an incident at a local Eurospar store where he assaulted a shop assistant.
The young man was pronounced dead a short time later at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown.
Post-mortem results revealed he died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds to the torso.
His family claim he was suffering from mental health issues for several months before his death and that the level of force used against him by gardaí was disproportionate.
At the latest hearing at the coroner’s court, lead investigator Stuart Duguid confirmed that GSOC’s file on its investigation into the circumstances of Mr Nkencho’s death had been forwarded to the DPP on 9 June.
Mr Duguid applied for a further adjournment of the inquest under the Coroners Act on the basis that criminal proceedings are being considered.
None of Mr Nchenko’s family were present in court, although they were aware of the hearing.
No objection to a further adjournment was raised by a solicitor representing the family.
The coroner, Myra Cullinane, granted the application and adjourned the case for mention again to June 11, 2024.
It is the sixth adjournment of the inquest since it first opened in June 2021.
GSOC has not stated at previous hearings if it had made a recommendation on whether any criminal charges should be brought against gardai involved in Mr Nkencho’s death.
At a previous sitting of the inquest in 2021, Mr Nkencho’s family also called on Dr Cullinane to conduct a wide examination of his death to establish if it was linked to racial profiling and discrimination in the context of the shooting “of a black man at the hands of white police officers.”
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